The Path Retaken
by BigBadWolfTardis
Summary: An accident in the Digital World leaves Tai and Kari trapped in their past. Now they must go through all their battles once again, and try to figure out a way to stop things spilling out of control. With new friends and evil digimon appearing, can Tai and Kari survive what this new timeline has to throw at them? And will they survive long enough to save the Digital World once more?


**Hello, so yeah, the 15th of March has arrived and as promised, here is the revamped version of my story 'The Path Retaken'. To all those that are new, I'll give you a brief explanation. I originally began this story two years ago, back when I was just starting out as a writer. I've lost my way with the story but instead of abandoning it, I've decided to start from scratch and rewrite it complete, fixing things that bugged me and improving the overall writing as a piece of work. Anyway, this idea was inspired by a story called 'Davis's Time Travel Adventure', but my will focus on Tai and Kari instead, and will be a rewrite of Digimon Adventure 01 and 02. Please remember that Digimon is not mine and I hope you enjoy this revamped story : )**

**...**

**A Twist in Time**

'Come on Tai, we're going to be late!' a somewhat irritated voice called, disturbing the young boy… no… young _man_, out of his occupied thoughts.

Groaning, the teenager got up from the armchair he had been slumped in and got to his feet, stretching and cracking his broad shoulders as he did so.

The young man of seventeen was called Tai Kamiya. He stood nearly six foot tall at full height, taller than men much older than himself because he was so athletic. He was slim, and dark haired which was so big it burst outwards in a messy yet also attractive explosion of chocolate brown. His eyes were also a warm brown in colour.

Today he was dressed in a black T-shirt, with a royal blue button up shirt over it, and brown jeans. But despite how normal, if handsome, Tai Kamiya appeared to the world, he was anything but… in fact, normal had flown out the window a VERY long time ago for Tai.

Tai was a part of a rag-tag group known as the Digidestined. In fact he was the leader of the Digidestined, which was a group of specifically chosen human children that protected the peace between the Earth and an alternate one, a bizarre place that had come to be known as The Digital World.

It was a world full to the brim with adventures, friendship, mystery and dreams. Sadly, it also came with deadly dangers and monsters, or at least it had until nearly a year prior. Most of the creatures, which were called Digimon, lived there in harmonious peace and only wished for a simple life. But some, some wanted more, most craved power and destruction, and they were willing to stop at nothing to get it.

Tai and seven of his friends had been summoned to stop a vile monster of darkness, known as Apocalymon, that was hell bent on the destruction of everything; from succeeding in his quest for vengeance, and in order for them to do it; they had all been partnered with their own digimon. It was these partners that Tai was about to be late to meet.

Four years after they had defeated Apocalymon and returned to their own world, the balance of the Digital World had been threatened once again, and so a new group of Digidestined had been summoned to defeat a creature called Malomyotismon, a lunatic devoted to blanketing both worlds in darkness to rule as their god, and they had managed to do it, leaving the Digital World at peace once again.

Other than a brief reappearance by a mutate digimon called Diaboromon appearing in the internet, and trying to emerge into the real world to destroy it, things had been pretty quiet, just the way Tai liked them.

Since nobody wanted anymore trouble to crop up, all the Digidestined around the world had agreed to patrol different quadrants of the Digital World, to help those that needed it, to stop any trouble or fights breaking out; to basically maintain the peace everyone had worked so hard for.

And it was his own patrol that Tai was about to be late for. Since trouble often escalated VERY fast in the Digital World, everyone went on patrol in pairs, along with their two partner digimon. It was the best way to avoid being caught in a sticky situation that could be too difficult to handle alone, plus it also offered someone to talk to when things were a bit slow on the adventurous front.

Today, it was Tai and Kari being paired together, Kari being Tai's younger sister and a member of both the first and second groups of Digidestined. It was also her that was calling him to get a move on. Kari hated being late after all.

'Coming' Tai called back as he began walking across the living room of his parents' apartment where he and Kari lived. Kari was currently in the bedroom they shared, but not a moment later the girl appeared, dressed and ready of a day of patrolling.

Kari Kamiya was a bright eyed girl with a gentle and compassionate spirit. She had sleek brown hair, a shade lighter than Tai's, which was clipped so it fell neatly around her pretty face. She was wearing a pale pink shirt over a dark purple T-Shirt and she was wearing a pale yellow bandana around her neck. She was also wearing a pair of short light brown shorts, and in her arms was her squirming digital partner, Gatomon.

Gatomon was a creature that closely resembled an Earth cat. She had white fur marked with purple markings, and over her front paws she wore green and red gloves which her lethal claws extended out from. Looped around her long stripy tail was a small golden ring, one that granted Gatomon an amble amount of holy power.

'Typical Tai, always running late' the feline digimon said as a way of greeting, making Tai chuckle softly to himself.

'Is Agumon ready?' Tai asked his younger sister. But it wasn't Kari that answered him.

'Some of us CAN get ready on time' another voice huffed indignantly, and from out of their bedroom, walking around Kari, came another digimon, Tai's own partner to be precise. Agumon was a small yellow dinosaur like creature. He was only a short one though, and he had startling green eyes and long pointed fangs and even longer claws. He short tail was swishing slightly as he impatiently tapped his clawed foot on the wooden floor of the living room.

'I guess you're all just waiting on me then' Tai rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

'So are you ready yet, or should we wait a bit longer?' Gatomon asked with some light sarcasm in her tone.

'No, I'm ready, let's get going' Tai said and all the others agreed. They headed into bedroom, and approached their computer. Kari set Gatomon down on the floor and pulled a device free from the belt around her waist which it had been clipped too. It was her digivice, a nifty little device that all Digidestined came with. Tai had one too, but it was slightly outdated compared to Kari's upgraded and more powerful one.

Kari aimed it at their computer and Tai held up his too. Agumon and Gatomon tensed up, both prepared for the rough ride which they were all about to experience.

'Digiport Open!' Kari commanded and the computer screen lit up until all four of them were blinded. In a flash of white light nobody had a chance of seeing through, Tai, Kari, Agumon and Gatomon all vanished into the screen.

…

'Ow… nearly two years of doing that and I still land on my butt' Kari complained as she stumbled to her feet and brushed some dirt of her shorts. Looking around, she saw that they had arrived. They were not in Japan anymore. They weren't even on Earth. They were in the Digital World now, on a small island called File Island to be precise.

'At least you had some practice, I've only done this fifteen times at most' Tai reminded her as he too got to his feet and looked around.

'So where are we again?' Agumon was the one to ask as he and Gatomon both corrected themselves on their feet as well.

'We're on the outskirts of Factorial Town' Tai told him and Agumon's face lit up in reminiscence.

'I haven't been here in years! Since the first time we met Andromon!' the dinosaur digimon said happily.

'I always forget that you were actually born here on File Island and that you're not actually from Server' Gatomon smiled at him fondly.

'That's all well and good, but we should really get patrolling. We're here to maintain the peace and help any troubled Digimon after all, not stroll down Memory Lane' Kari reminded them, not unkindly though.

'That's right Kari, let's go everyone' Tai said, assuming his position of leader as he had so many times in the past.

Kari, Gatomon, and Agumon nodded, before they set off into the city, their eyes peeled for anyone in need of help, and even more so for something causing trouble.

…

Nearly an hour after their patrol had started, and the group had seen a big fat nothing. No digimon in need of help, no threat to the peace, nothing. But this didn't put them off. They still had another four hours to go yet, and so they were passing the time with some light hearted conversation.

'Well, not much adventure for us today' Tai commented lightly, looking around at the cliffs that surrounded the north of the city, the same cliffs they were walking under at that very moment.

'Nope, but after everything we've been through, I think that's a good thing' Kari chuckled slightly. They had all had enough trouble to last a lifetime after all. It was actually pretty amazing that Tai WANTED some trouble after everything they had been through.

Suddenly they were all thrown to the ground with a huge resounding boom. They all hit the dirt with a dull thud, followed by groans of pain which escaped their lips. They hadn't had time to break their falls after all, it had been too sudden, and so they had all landed flat on their faces.

Gatomon threw Tai an irritated look.

'I wish you'd keep your mouth shut' she told him with a snap in her hissing voice.

'Hey, I didn't say I _wanted_ trouble' Tai retorted to the small cat defensively.

'Gatomon's right Tai! You don't say things are quiet because then something breaks it! You totally jinxed us!' Agumon protested.

'What caused that anyway?' Kari wondered aloud, looking around for a sign of the disturbance. Moments after the last word had left her lips, there was another loud boom that threatened to knock them off their feet again. They all wobbled as another tremor shook the earth beneath their feet, throwing up dust into their eyes.

'I bet it's some kind of digimon' Tai said with gritted teeth. If the cause of the tremors was big, they might just be in for a rough battle here.

'It's coming from other there' Gatomon cried, pointing with one her claws in the direction her feline senses sensed the disturbance was coming from.

'Shall we?' Tai turned to his sister, who nodded determinedly.

'Let's check it out' she said, and not a moment later the two siblings were running towards the source of the disturbance. That was them all over. Run TO the danger and not from it. That was what marked them as the true heroes they were.

Agumon and Gatomon looked at each other before nodding, following after their human partners. They ran all the way along the bottom of the cliffs, and looking forwards when another loud boom shook the area, they saw caught sight of exactly what was causing the tremors.

It was a digimon; a champion levelled one judging by the size of him. Of course, the size wasn't always enough to give an accurate description of level, seeing as Gatomon was tiny yet she was also a champion, by they were pretty sure they could handle the digimon before them.

The creature itself was glinting in the sunlight, seeing as his body was made out of a golden metal, probably Chrome Digizoid. He had a round body with what appeared to be a clock face on it, complete with ticking clock hands, and he was set on a pair of bendy looking legs. He had the torso, shoulders, arms, and head of a man sticking out of the top of the clock, and he was draped in a long bellowing red cape of silk. Clutched in his hands was a long mallet, which he was using to fire sonic sound waves at the jagged cliff face, causing large boulders and rock chippings to rain down to the ground below like a meteor shower.

'What's he doing?' Kari quirked a confused eyebrow. She was unable to see the point of a digimon blasting energy at a cliff face. She highly doubted there even was a point, so what was this guy up too?

'I've got no idea, but I do know that if he keeps going, he's going to cause a rockslide that'll bury Factorial Town!' Gatomon said, rather alarmed at the foolishness of this digimon's actions.

'Agumon, just who is this guy?' Tai inquired and Kari and Gatomon tuned in to listen too. Gatomon had never seen a digimon like that before so she wasn't in a position to answer Tai's question. Thankfully, Agumon was.

'That's a Clockmon, I saw one once during those years after you left after Apocalymon and before you returned to fight Ken' Agumon explained to the other three.

'Well I guess we'd better stop him, he's going to destroy the city at the rate he's going' Tai sighed, just knowing that this guy was going to be annoyed at them for disturbing him. They didn't have a choice though. They had to stop him before he set off a rockslide.

'Just your average day in the Digital World I guess' Kari said, sounding as weary as Tai.

The four of them slowly and calmly walked over to him.

'Excuse me!' Tai called but Clockmon didn't seem to hear them.

'Hey! Rusty!' Gatomon shouted. Now THAT caught his attention. The Clockmon turned to them with a scowl, looking rather irritated at Gatomon's comment.

'Who are you calling Rusty, you little hairball?!' he scowled at them. Gatomon bristled slightly with insult but didn't reply. Instead she decided to let Tai try his diplomatic approach with this guy. Failing that, _then_ she could trash him.

'Hey man, is something wrong? What did the cliff do to make you so mad at it' Tai joked, trying to ease the tension. Clockmon didn't seem to appreciate his pitiful attempt at humour though. If anything, his scowl hardened and his glare intensified.

Without uttering a word, he sent a blast of energy at them, forcing both Tai and Agumon to duck down. They both threw themselves to the ground, once again getting covered in mud and dirt. It was rather difficult to return home from the Digital World in a clean state after all. Tai was pretty sure that he had never managed it to date.

'Kari!' Gatomon yelled, pushing her partner to the side and out of harm's way. Both the girls hit the ground too, and once sure that no more blasts were to come; they all looked up at the sneering face of Clockmon, who was regarding them as if they were mere insects just waiting to be squashed.

'HEY! That was uncalled for!' Tai yelled loudly, angered by the sneak attack when they had posed no threat to him, but Clockmon laughed menacingly as all four of them clambered to their feet, all glaring at him.

'All I wanted was to be left alone to focus on my training, but even that seems impossible. I'll teach you not to disturb me' the mechanical digimon snarled, raising his mallet threateningly.

'You call that training? You could have set off a rockslide!' Kari told him sternly. Clockmon shrugged his humanoid-shoulders uncaringly.

'Yeah, don't you care that you endangered all the digimon leaving in Factorial Town?' Gatomon glared at him but Clockmon just sneered at them all in response.

'Not my problem. I only wish to further my training and digivolve even further. This city is of no importance to me' the metal digimon told them in an emotionless tone. Their faces all darkened. They knew now that talking to this guy would achieve nothing. If they were going to get him to leave, they'd have to knock some sense into him.

'Agumon, digivolve' Tai ordered immediately, focusing his courage to the max. The Crests may be gone, but the potential was still there for the digimon to digivolve, and with such a sharp blast of courage, Agumon glowed in a blinding white light.

'Agumon warp digivolve to… Wargreymon' he roared, and before them stood a huge digimon of the Mega level, much stronger than Clockmon.

Wargreymon stood much taller than Tai and Kari, and his muscled chest and arms were covered in thick grey battle armour, but parts of his humanoid lizard like yellow body were still visible beneath the metalized sections. He had thick metal wings on his back capable of propelling him into the air and maintaining altitude, and his eyes were still bright green, and he now had vivid red hair flapping about from under his gleaming metal battle helmet. He stood ready for battle, his armoured arms raised defensively.

'Gatomon, get ready' Kari looked down at her feline partner who nodded as she darted forwards. Kari focused in on her inner powers of light, causing them to flare up and shine brightly, filling Gatomon with renewed power.

'Gatomon digivolve to… Angewomon' she called as she glowed with a dazzling white light.

Her feline form gracefully morphed into that of a beautiful woman whose skin seemed to glow with an ethereal quality. She had shining golden locks flowing down her back, and she wore a winged helmet that hid her identity and protected her modesty. Her outfit revealed many sections of beautiful skin and she had eight shimmering wings of light protruding from her back. A purple ribbon swirled around her slender arms and formed an arch high over her head, its ends feathered out as they hung from each arm. She truly was an Angel that shone in the darkness.

Clockmon gaped at them in incredulous shock. It was clear that he had not been expecting THAT.

'The Warrior of Courage and the Celestial Angel of Light!' Clockmon gasped in horrified shock, before his mouth slowly curled into an evil smirk. He glared at both the digimon before him, something akin to loathing gleaming in his cruel eyes.

'But you're still not a match for my strength. It's _Time_ to finish you both… TIME BUSTER' he roared, sending a wave of blue energy at them. Kari was sure that she could hear the ticking and chiming of many clocks emitting from the beam of energy being blasted towards them.

'TERRA FORCE' Wargreymon countered, focusing a ball of fiery energy into existence between his huge clawed hands. Once it was fully formed into a burning sphere of heat and light, Wargreymon hurled it towards the oncoming attack.

'CELESTIAL ARROW' Angewomon screamed, using the light around her to forge a glistening arrow of celestial power into being. Using her other arm as a winged bow, she took aim and fired the arrow at the approaching Time Buster attack.

All three attacks met each other head on and exploded in a monstrous ball of white light that grew so quickly that none of them could escape its path in time.

'TAI!' Kari screamed as the light engulfed her and wrapped around her. Tai looked on, seeing her vanish into it, before he squinted from the brightness of the burning light, horrified to see Wargreymon and Angewomon had been caught up in the explosion too. It was so sudden, that neither of them had had chance to dedigivolve in time to prevent their deletion. They were both reduced to data in less than a nano-second. Clockmon was also reduced to digi-dust in the explosion. Nothing could escape its path.

'AAARGH!' Tai yelled, completely horrified and numb with shock, as he felt himself being flung into the air like a ragdoll. His body fell limp as he fell through the air and time and space.

It felt like white hot knives were being pushing into his body over and over again. Every part of him ached and it felt like he was burning, bleeding, dissolving… all at the same time. He screamed and screamed until his throat felt red raw, and it wasn't long before his frail human body just couldn't take the energy pouring through him anymore. Tai quickly found him succumbing to the darkness drowning his consciousness. Then he knew no more.

…

The awful sensation was of falling. For hours or maybe even days, Tai tumbled through the abyss of nothingness, his own screams lost in the rumble of noise that pounded against his weak and damaged body. It was like the storm and wind, crushing the air from Tai's lungs and still pressurizing his flesh, determined to draw blood.

Minutes and Hours, Dimensions and Space, Tai fell through them all. Colours swam around him in a rainbow, dancing around him as they flashed across his eyes. They were beautiful, and yet so wrong. Nobody was ever meant to see them. They meant bad things to those that crossed their path.

His skin sparkled as if a live current of static was running through him, so much so that his teeth were chattering from the bizarre sensation. And it hurt. It hurt so much, it felt as though every single cell in his body was changing, burning, morphing into something else yet also feeling exactly the same.

And just when Tai thought the falling would never end, he was suddenly slammed back into reality. Everything had stopped spinning; the noises in his head were gone, as were his own screams of pain. He also felt solid again; something he hadn't felt as he fell through everything.

Moaning something incomprehensible, Tai immediately passed out, and darkness consumed his world once more.

…

Sometime later, Tai couldn't be sure when exactly, he was finally dragged back to the land of consciousness, against his will that was. He wasn't sure, but something felt…off, not quite right. It was like that prickling sensation you got on the back of your neck when you knew someone was behind you. It didn't make much sense to Tai.

Opening his eyes posed a challenge in itself to Tai, they felt so heavy from exhaustion, but Tai knew he couldn't stay asleep forever. Eventually he forced his eyes to open, only to blink up in confusion at the ceiling of his bedroom.

'What…How did?' Tai slurred groggily. He winced and panted for air. His throat felt red raw. He vaguely remembered something about screaming but he couldn't be sure. Nothing made much sense at the moment.

'I'm home… I wasn't home… I was in the Digital World… with Kari!' Tai cried in alarm as he forced his aching muscles to obey him so that he could sit up. He paused again. Something was definitely not right. He just couldn't quite place his finger on it…

He looked around at his surroundings. He was definitely back in his bedroom in the Real World, and for a moment he wondered if one of the others had found him and Kari and brought them back, but he quickly discounted that scenario. Nobody else would have been anywhere near Factorial Town, so how he had managed it… how was he back home?

Deciding that finding out whether or not Kari was ok was much more important than getting his questions answered, Tai reached out to put a hand on the ladder of his bunk bed, only to stop short at the sight of a tiny hand in the place of his larger man's hand.

He stared at the hand in utter bewilderment. It was pink and soft and… a child's! His brain sent a message to wiggle the fingers. The fingers before him reacted to it.

'Ok… that's not right' Tai frowned in puzzlement. And then he noticed his voice. Whereas it had been deep when he left for the Digital World, now it was squeaky and high-pitched. It was the voice of a child not yet gone through puberty.

Very confused by this point, Tai looked around the room again. Now that he was paying more attention to detail, he noticed the things that his first passing glance of the room had missed. The stuffed bear lying in the corner. The children's books on the bedside table. The jumper lying on the floor in a jumbled heap that couldn't possibly fit a teenager nearing adulthood.

'What the heck is going on?' Tai asked himself aloud, still talking in that ridiculous high-pitched voice. He coughed to himself, trying to clear his throat, but no matter what he did, his voice refused to drop its squeaky tone. It just wouldn't deepen back to normal.

Tai prodded himself on the nose. He gasped when the tiny fingers met a cute button nose and not the angular articulated one that usually resided in the centre of his face. Now in full panic mode, Tai threw his blanket off him, which was not his royal regal red blanket but blue with cowboy patterns, and reached for the ladder. He groaned as he began to climb down, finding his feet unable to reach the next rung properly. He almost slipped but managed to catch himself. And then he landed on the floor.

He gaped around at his bedroom. Judging by the wallpaper and the content, the room was designed for a six year old or even younger, and everything was so… big. No, Tai shook his head. The room wasn't bigger. HE was smaller!

He rushed across the room and reached _up_ towards the door handle, a feeling he hadn't been accustomed to for a very long time, and he ran through the darkened apartment to the bathroom. Too short to see into the mirror, Tai climbed up onto the side of the bath, and when he caught saw of his reflection, his mouth dropped open and his eyes bulged out of his head.

'Holy crap!' he breathed, feeling his cute round CHILD'S face was his tiny hands. It really was him!

He was definitely himself, he hadn't become somebody else, but he was only six years old, he was at the age he had been when he had witnessed the Greymon/Parrotmon battle that had eventually led to Tai, Kari, and their friends becoming the First Digidestined.

He looked so innocent and cute, but it was NOT something to laugh and joke about. It was absolutely terrifying! How the hell could this have happened?! You didn't just wake up and find yourself back in your child-self's body! That didn't even happen in the Digital World, and ANYTHING was possible there.

'I must be dreaming' Tai shook his head, his face shining with panicked sweaty and looking horribly pale.

He closed his eyes and gave himself a pinch on the arm. When Tai opened his eyes, the only change was a tiny red mark on his arm. He was still in the body of a 6 year old Tai Kamiya. He whimpered in panic as tears swelled in the corners of his eyes.

'But… why? How?' he asked himself weakly. He was so distressed he didn't hear the bathroom door creak open. He almost jumped out of his skin when Kari spoke to him, sounding just as panic-stricken as he did.

'Tai?' she asked, tears pouring down her face.

'Kari? Is that really you?' Tai asked, rather dimly if one were being honest. She was tiny! Only about two years old! She was just a toddler. But there was something wrong. Her wide brown eyes were definitely older than her toddler limbs and her baby complexion suggested. They were the eyes of someone that had been haunted by battle, just like the eyes the older Kari had possessed, the eyes you could only see if you had fought in a war yourself… which meant that…

Kari burst into tears and clung to him. Tai gently shushed her as he hugged her close to him, needing the comfort just as much as she did.

'It's really you! I'm not the only one to have got younger!' she sobbed into the pyjamas he was wearing.

'So you've been reverted back to a child as well, even further back than me' Tai noted, trying to think clearly but this was all getting to be too much. His head was spinning as he tried to figure out what the heck was happening.

'Tai, what's going on, why do we look like this… and everything else is like it used to be too' Kari noted and Tai began putting the pieces together.

Up until now everything had been a bit blurry, but his memories were slowly coming back to him. Patrolling in the Digital World in Factorial Town… Clockmon firing at the cliff, almost causing a rockslide… Agumon and Gatomon digivolving into Wargreymon and Angewomon… the explosion…

'It can't be' he whispered in stunned shock. Kari looked up at him sharply, silently demanding an explanation.

'There's no way' Tai breathed.

'Tai, what is it? What have you figured out?' Kari was desperate to know. Tai looked at her at, incredulous shock crystal clear in his chocolate brown eyes.

'I think… I think we've gone back in time!' Tai dropped the bomb-shell. Kari actually burst out laughing. That was just so… out there; it was unbelievable, even compared to everything they had witnessed in the Digital World.

'That's ridiculous, we couldn't have' she shook her head. Tai scowled at her, which looked adorable on the six year old face he was currently sporting.

'Then let's go check… Mom's calendar' Tai suggested and sighing, Kari nodded in agreement.

The two of them left the bathroom and crept through the dark apartment, being careful not wake their sleeping parents, and arriving in the kitchen, Tai lifted Kari up onto his shoulders so that she was high enough to read the calendar pinned to the fridge door.

Kari gave a squeak of surprise as her eyes read over the date. It was impossible! There was no way it could be true!

'Well?' Tai wanted to know.

'March 15th…1994. It's over FIVE YEARS _before_ we ever went to the Digital World!' Kari exclaimed in shock. Tai was so stunned, he accidently dropped Kari. She landed on the floor with a disgruntled 'Oomph'.

'Ouch, hey!' she protested but Tai quickly covered her mouth, nodding in the direction of their parent's room. Rolling her eyes, Kari nodded her understanding and Tai removed his hand. He grabbed her tiny shoulders and gently steered her into their own bedroom. They'd be able to talk more freely there.

'_Five years_? You **must** be joking… that's before we even saw Greymon and Parrotmon and became the Digidestined!' Tai whisper-shouted in horrified shock.

'That was the date on the calendar… but how did this happen? WHY did this happen?' was the question Kari wanted the answer to. Tai frowned, placing his thumb under his small chin, deep in thought.

'What's the last thing you remember?' he suddenly asked and Kari frowned thoughtfully.

'We were battling that Clockmon… he unleashed an attack and Wargreymon and Angewomon countered it and they all exploded around us. We were all pulled into it… and then, I wake up and I'm a flipping toddler!' Kari shook her head, looking down at her tiny form in disgust. It wasn't that she didn't like children or anything, in fact, she'd love to work with them one day, but to suddenly be transformed back into one, it was just wrong… horrifying even. It vaguely reminded her of that battle against Cherubimon, only this was worse, since the effects would NOT be wearing off. They were permanent, until she grew older again, over the course of over TEN years!

'Oh… I think I understand now. That attack that Clockmon fired at us. It was called 'Time Buster'' Tai said darkly and Kari's eyes widened in realisation.

'You mean?' she gasped, covering her mouth with her miniscule hand.

'Yes! When Wargreymon and Angewomon countered it, they must have powered up the explosion and that caused us to be sent back in time… all the way back to before we ever entered the Digital World!' Tai said as the answer landed on him. Kari gasped, her face pale with fright.

'But… if we're in our own past, what if we cause a paradox?! What if we do something to prevent ourselves becoming the Digidestined? And what about Agumon and Gatomon… what if we can never see them again?' Kari began crying now, trying to hold back her inner child and failing too. It was just hard NOT to cry in a situation as severe as the one they had gotten themselves into.

Tai frowned. Those were really good points. And what about Agumon and Gatomon? He had seen them both get destroyed, but had THEY been sent back in time too? It WAS possible that they had. But if they hadn't, what would they do when they showed up in the Digital World again…IF they returned to the Digital World that was.

'But… there might be an up-side to all this' he began slowly, cautious in his choice of words. Kari looked up at him sharply, frustration in her tearful eyes.

'How? How can this possibly be a good thing?' she demanded to know, her stress at the situation shining through her words.

'Well, think about it. If we could potentially stop ourselves from being the Digidestined, then that would mean that we'd have the power to change events we know are coming' Tai began and Kari's small face contorted with the effort to see where Tai was going with this.

'Yeah…so?' she said slowly, trying her best but not following.

'So, say we ARE the Digidestined again, we could make things happen differently, make different choices, handle certain situations differently, we'd be changing time itself. We could mould our adventures in the Digital World in a way to give us the advantage, to put us a step ahead of our enemies' Tai explained.

Instead of the dawning understanding that Tai had been expecting, uncertainty flashed across Kari's eyes.

'I'm not so sure Tai, I mean, everything worked out alright in the original timeline. We lost good friends admittedly, but for the most part things worked out alright… and if we change things, what if it goes wrong and we end up allowing the Dark Masters or Apocalymon to succeed?' Kari voiced her concerns.

'I'm sure if we just alter the chain of events in little ways it'll work out ok. All we'd need to do is help our digimon get stronger and stronger and we'd know what was coming. We could save so many of the friends we lost the first time around, since we'd know what was coming and could react in time. It's worth a shot isn't it?' Tai looked at her with his usual determination sprouting in his eyes.

'Well, I have to admit, it certainly sounds good in theory… but right now I think the only thing we should be worried about is trying to fit in here back in this time' Kari told him wisely and Tai nodded, completely agreeing with her.

'I hadn't even thought about that. But you're right, we need to keep a low profile… it might be tough at first, but I'm sure if we act like everyone else at our ages, we'll manage to fit in alright' Tai said, before a small yawn escaped his lips.

'Let's get some sleep. We can work out a plan tomorrow' Kari suggested and Tai nodded in agreement.

'Goodnight Kari… I hope you wake up tomorrow and this was all just a nightmare' he said as he climbed into his bunk. Kari let out a humourless chuckle that sounded so weird coming from a girl barely older than two.

'I have a feeling that that's not going to happen. Goodnight Tai' Kari said softly.

'Night' Tai replied, and it wasn't long before the two Kamiyas were in dreamland again.

…

Meanwhile in the Digital World, events from long ago were happening once again. Evil that had been defeated had not been conquered yet, and thus the peace that Tai, Kari, and all the others had struggled so hard for and had once achieved was just a distance dream now, a future still yet to happen. The Digital World hadn't had visitors from the Earth yet. It was once again the war ridden place that had yet to be liberated by the Digidestined.

It hadn't always been that way though. Once it had been a wonderful place, full to the brim with beauty and peace and _life_, but one day time became warped and knotted and space fell into distortion and disrepair as a vicious darkness like no other appeared from out of the void. And said darkness created four mutations to do its bidding, a group of monsters with powers only matched by the four Digital Gods that watched over the North, East, West, and South Quadrants of the Digital World.

The four Gods battled valiantly, trying their very best to protect everything they held so dear, to shield their whole world from the destruction the monsters would inflict on it, but after a harsh and murderous battle that caused the destruction of thousands and ravaged the land, the light went out and the darkness reined.

The Four Digital Gods, or the Sovereigns as those in the know called them, were sealed in a state of limbo, not in the Digital World and not in the Real World either, just somewhere in between. In a place where nothing and everything existed all at once.

With every other digimon powerless to stop them, the four monsters soon set up a regime of darkness and despair through the land. Anyone who was brave enough to oppose them, or foolish enough as the case may be, was obliterated off the face of the Digital World. The creatures showed no mercy and slaughtered thousands of innocent Digimon, attacking or enslaving most on sight. They had not been programmed to be merciful. They had been programmed to conquer the Digital World. They fashioned themselves a name that would one day infect the hearts of those who heard it with gripping-terror.

They declared that the Digital World and the Earth would fall. They declared themselves… The Dark Masters.

…

Mrs Kamiya liked to think that there was not much could take her by surprise. She liked to think that it would take rather a lot to catch her off guard, but right now she was shocked and there was no denying it. And the strangest thing of all, it was her own children that were shocking her so much.

It had been like someone had flicked a switch, it had happened so suddenly. One day Tai was a wild-spirited little boy that only thought about playing soccer and not much else. Kari was a timid shy little toddler that barely spoke and when she did, it often only came out as disjoined words and not coherent sentences. Most of the time she just used a whistle to communicate.

But over the past few weeks, Mrs Kamiya had noticed such a large change in her children that she couldn't help but wonder what had caused it. They just… weren't acting like themselves.

Tai had started getting higher marks in school, not that she was complaining about that but she was curious about what had brought the change about. His teacher had already called a meeting to discuss it, and Mrs Kamiya was stunned to find that he was now the highest-achieving child in his class. Of course, she had complete faith in her children but she knew that they had faults too, just like every other human being on the planet, and Tai had never struck her as the academic type. He was more the athletic type. But now she could be helping him with his homework which he used to need her help with, only to find he needed no help at all now.

Kari had been acting strange too. Just a few short weeks ago she used to love being dropped off at play-group, and when she was there she would play with all the other kids and really enjoy herself. Now though, she was a bit of a loner and preferred to be by herself, and Mrs Kamiya was worried about that fact. She wanted her daughter to be a chatty young girl that loved being surrounded by friends. Not a girl that preferred her own company to that of others.

But the speed at which the changes had happened… Mrs Kamiya was SURE that it was not natural child development; the change had been too sudden. She had tried talking to them of course, but neither of them would give her a tangible answer.

No, Mrs Kamiya could just not make heads or tails of the changes she was seeing in her children, and she could only hope that time would eventually give her the answers she was looking for.

…

'This really isn't working Tai' Kari said to Tai as she sat on the edge of her bed in their room, her little legs dangling over the edge as Tai paced back and forth in front of her. At her words, Tai quirked an eyebrow in her direction, silently requesting that she elaborate.

'Mum, she's getting suspicious of us. She's been asking me why I'm talking now and not whistling' Kari told him and Tai paused in his pacing.

'So it's not just me she's noticed a change in' he nodded to himself thoughtfully. Their mother had also confronted him about his increase in intelligence and he honestly had no idea what to tell her. But in comparison to the mathematics he had been studying in his own time, it was pretty hard to dumb himself back down to his seven multiplications.

'We're sticking out too much, we're going to draw attention to ourselves soon' Kari warned him, her voice showing her concerns at this issue. She was worried that somebody would cotton onto the fact that there was something different about them, which would lead to a lot of complicate questions they wouldn't be able to answer. She wasn't worried about people figuring out they were from the future of course. Seriously, who would jump to THAT conclusion but still, drawing attention to themselves could prove dangerous to the wrong people, Oikawa for example.

'I know… argh… it's just so hard trying to dumb everything down to a Six Year Old's level' Tai growled in frustration. He had been trying his best, but he just couldn't help himself. He'd be sitting in class, and the teacher would ask a perfectly simple question, and yet no one would know the answer except him. And it drove him nuts… just sitting and waiting for one of them to cotton on. But he knew he needed to calm it down a bit, or else he'd get a reputation of being a geek, so NOT a title he wanted to wear!

'How do you think I feel?! I have to act like a toddler!' Kari reminded him indignantly. At least Tai could act vaguely normal, just on a less advanced level. _She_ had to play with wooden blocks and make out like they were the most exciting thing in the world!

'I know how hard it is Kari, but we've got to try. Like you said, we can't afford to attract the wrong kind of attention. We need some way of fitting in better… but how?' Tai pondered aloud. Kari put her thumb under her baby chin as she thought about it too, before she snapped her fingers as the answer came to her.

'We need friends' she said the words like they made complete sense. Unfortunately to Tai, they made nothing of the sort. In fact, they confused him greatly, and he made his confusion very well known by asking her what the heck she was on about. Kari let out a low sigh of annoyance before she began to explain her idea.

'We need people to mimic. We need people for the age we are meant to be acting like so that we can copy their behaviour. It'll make us much less conspicuous and it might be fun' Kari said, trying to sound optimistic but still she sounded a little doubtful about her own idea. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she was willing to give it a try if Tai agreed it was a good idea.

Tai rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and when he eventually replied, he chose his words with great care as not to discount or praise the idea yet. He could already see several complications AND difficulties from such a plan, but he wasn't shooting it down in flames, not yet at least.

'The trouble is, if we make friends with the others at this point in time, we could end up changing them in ways we can't predict, and it was our own individual personalities and traits that the crests were modelled on and allowed our digimon to digivolve' Tai began to explain why he was hesitant about the idea.

When Tai and Kari had first burst into this time, they had discussed what they should do about their relationships with the other Digidestined, their best friends from the future. At this point, they had yet to meet any of them formally, but Tai's first meeting with Matt and Sora would be taking place in a few weeks, should everything follow the original timeline at least. But other than that, Tai had had very little contact with the rest of the original Digidestined in the original timeline, and Kari had had even less, although she had met TK once or twice before their adventures in the Digital World.

Tai and Kari had talked about it for hours, weighing up the pros and cons of deliberately changing time to make the gang closer as friends from an earlier point in their lives. Whilst the idea would be nice and would likely make them fight better as a team, Tai and Kari had eventually decided NOT to approach the others due to the fear of changing them. Not only did they not want to change their friends in any way for nostalgia and moral reasons, but their specific personalities were what had allowed their true powers to shine forth and made their partner's digivolutions possible. If Tai and Kari changed those powers, who knew what changes it may cause to the timeline, and the last thing they wanted was for it to collapse and end in both worlds being governed by darkness. No, they were leaving their friends alone and letting nature take its course. Their deliberate changes would only begin AFTER they went to the Digital World, _not_ before.

'Who mentioned the others… we could make new friends' Kari shrugged off his concerned. Of course, she didn't mean it in the sense that she wanted to give up their friends in the sense that she didn't like them anymore. She did, she truly loved them all, like family, and she missed them very much. But that didn't mean that they couldn't have friends outside of the Digidestined, and this was a golden opportunity to make such new friends. Plus, for fear of changing the wrong aspect of their friendships with the others, Kari wanted to keep her distance. It was for their own good after all, despite how painful it was at time.

Tai was looking thoughtful once again, before he let out a tired sigh.

'I suppose we could. We wouldn't have to tell them about the Digital World, and it would make it easier fitting in without attracting suspicious, but would you be able to give them up when the time comes for us to go to the Digital World?' Tai couldn't help but worry. He knew that if they made new friends and then were forced to disappear and meet brand new people, it would be hard, not only on them but the people they made friends with. After all, losing friends was never easy and Tai wasn't sure it was fair to make friends, keep them around for a few years, and then dump them when the time was right. Kari looked a little down at that thought. She really hadn't thought about that little aspect.

'I suppose that would be cruel of us, and I wouldn't want to do it… but just because we'd have our responsibilities as Digidestined wouldn't mean we couldn't still be friends with them. We could just hang out with them whenever we could. You don't always have to be together to remain friends' Kari pointed out. And they both knew that better than anyone. They had went four years without seeing Agumon, Gatomon and the others, and their friendships hadn't weakened in the slightest, so why wouldn't that principle apply to humans as well?

'I suppose. Alright, tomorrow when we're at school and playgroup, let's try and make ourselves some new friends' Tai nodded in acceptance of the plan and Kari grinned at him. After all, things had been a bit lonelier for her in this time, not knowing anybody properly yet, so it would be nice to have someone to spend some time with again.

Neither of them had any idea what would come of their plan as they slipped into dreamland that night, or just how much would change because of it.

…

They didn't have long to wait though. In fact, the very next day brought an event which would change several lives forever. It was a tiny moment that hadn't happened in the original timeline, and it had only happened in this one because Tai had inadvertently caused it too. Sure, he was looking to make a new friend so he'd fit in better, but he had no idea exactly what this one tiny change would cause.

Since Tai wasn't really friends with Matt and Sora yet (Which pained him because their friendship meant a great deal to him), Tai didn't really have too many people to spend his break-times with. And due to his sudden increase intelligence, he had become somewhat alienated from his class-mates, yet he was still fairly well liked due to his amazing skills on the soccer field. So Tai had spent a lot of break times just sitting around the playground or occasionally reading or playing games with the other, more friendly and open-minded kids.

On this particular day however, Tai was sitting on a bench, just silently thinking to himself, when another boy in his year sat down at the other end of the bench, causing Tai to glance over at him for a moment.

The boy was roughly Tai's height or maybe an inch taller. He was very skinny with legs like pipe-cleaners, and he had messy blonde spiky hair. His eyes were an olive green in shading, and his face was round and cheerful. He wore a red T-shirt and black trousers and red and white trainers. A large book was currently under his nose, and his olive eyes were darting across the pages at top speed.

It was obvious that he was something of a book-worm, though Tai vaguely recognised him from the original timeline. They had barely spoken, but Tai could remember an older version of the boy in his High-School classes. Tai frowned, trying to think of his name. Something with an 'S'… maybe Seamus or Stanley… something like that.

The boy didn't seem to have any friends of his own yet, but since everyone was new in the school (as the school year had only just started up a few weeks ago) it wasn't overly surprizing. Tai himself didn't have too many friends at this point yet, but that was only because he refused to talk to Matt and Sora until it was the right time. Sadly, the boy seemed a bit depressed about his lack of friends, which Tai could relate too entirely. Making friends could be hard, especially when starting somewhere new and frightening.

Kari's plan echoed in his mind, and before Tai could talk himself out of it, he opened his mouth and the words came out of their own accord. He mentally sighed as he struck up a conversation. The boy seemed rather down in the dumps, and just because Tai knew he'd have a long and difficult future ahead of him, that didn't mean he couldn't be nice and do some good in some minor ways for a lonely little boy sitting alone at break time.

'Hey, what's your name?' Tai asked as a mean of a conversation starter. It wasn't much of an opening, but it was best he could think of at such a whim. And anyway, the boy was six, what did he need, a handshake and a pompous greeting? Tai doubted it would take that much to get the kid to open up a bit. The boy jumped and turned to him, clearly very startled if his expression was anything to go by. He looked at Tai with suspicion lining his face, as if trying to see if Tai would start teasing him or not. Tai smiled warmly at him, which seemed to do the trick as the boy appeared to relax a little bit. His shoulders weren't as tense and he smiled politely at any rate.

'Steven, Steven Taylor' he smiled apprehensively, still looking a bit distrustfully at Tai. It was obvious that he hadn't had much of a warm welcome from the other kids in their year, which could probably be contributed to the fact that he appeared to be a shy little book-worm. They never made for being popular kids.

Tai mentally nodded to himself. That was it. Steven… not Seamus. If Tai's extremely vague memories were anything to go by, (and they weren't much seeing as the most contact Tai had ever had with Steven in the original timeline was an apology for accidently knocking his book off his desk once in class), then Steven Taylor had been the kid at the back of the class, desperate to stay out of the limelight and never seemingly having many friends around him. Well, hopefully Tai could change that. Even if it wasn't very important in the grand scheme of things, Tai needed to fit in and have someone to talk to if he was going to stay off the radar, and if that meant breaking the saddening mould of another individual then so be it.

'Hey Steven, I'm Tai Kamiya' Tai grinned warmly at him, trying to put the boy at ease. It seemed to do the trick as Steven visibly relaxed slightly.

'So, are you enjoying the classes… we're in the same one right?' Tai asked conversationally. To make friends you had to be friendly, and Tai had learned friendliness from the best of them, namely Matt, not that Tai would ever tell him that.

Steven seemed to cheer up immensely that someone was actually talking to him without being mean and snide. Tai vaguely remembered Steven being picked on for being 'A know-it-all' and a bookworm. If Tai could become his friend, that might make all the difference to Steven, which Tai would admit felt nice. If he had to be cursed by being sentenced to reliving his own past, why shouldn't he use that time to do some good for others.

'Well… not so much really. Not many people seem to like me' Steven admitted timidly, as if afraid that Tai would laugh at him. Tai could see that the poor boy had quite a lack of self-confidence. But instead of laughing, Tai just smiled encouragingly at him.

'Well, I can't see why. As far as I can see you're a nice person' Tai told him warmly and Steven beamed at him.

'Really, well maybe you can be my friend!' he said hopefully and Tai laughed in a warm way, making sure that Steve didn't think it sounded cruel or mocking.

'Sure, I'd love to be' Tai told him and Steven's eyes lit up happily. It was obvious that Tai was the first friend he had ever had.

'So, what type of things do you like Tai?' Steven asked as he shuffled along the bench so they were sitting closer together. Tai smiled inwardly. He was sure that if he hadn't initiated the conversation, Steven wouldn't have had the guts to ask that question. Maybe he could just help the boy get some self-confidence. It was something to fill his time with after all. It wasn't like he'd be in the Digital World anytime soon.

'Well, my favourite colour is red, and I love soccer' Tai told him simply and Steven nodded.

'I don't really like soccer very much. I watch it and I love that, but actually playing it… well, I'm not very good at it' Steve admitted sheepishly and Tai chuckled.

'No, you don't strike me as the sporty type' Tai laughed and Steven looked away quickly, his face reddening. Realising that Steven thought he was making fun of him, Tai quickly back-tracked.

'But that's a good thing. I mean, why should everyone be into the same things? It would get kinda boring after a while… and I could always show you how to play, I'm really good at it' Tai said and Steven looked back at him again, seemingly realising that Tai hadn't been making fun of him. Tai inwardly sighed. Man, this kid had no confidence in himself at all. If it was going to be Tai's own pet project to help this kid out and give him some confidence, it would take years to achieve. Lucky he had five and not much else to do in them.

'That sounds like fun!' Steven said excitedly and Tai grinned, knowing that the balls had already been put into motion of them becoming friends.

Tai had no way of knowing that just by choosing to talk to this guy on a whim, he had just altered the course of Steven's life in ways he couldn't have possibly imagined, and this was furthermore cemented by the actions of one Kari Kamiya, although she had no idea about it at the time before it was far too late to undo them.

…

Whilst at playgroup, Kari did her best to act like everything was overwhelming and exciting, but it was a struggle for her and it was showing. She didn't really interact with the other kids much, mostly because it had been a long time since she had been a toddler, and therefore she was somewhat out of touch with them.

Still, she was trying her best to fit in, and one day, the exact same day that Tai and Steven had become acquainted in fact, Kari met someone new, and strangely, this kid seemed to be cleverer then his years would suggest.

The boy was only the same age as Kari, maybe a little younger than her but older than TK would be at this point at any rate. He had a fluffy tuff of dark brown hair, and his eyes were so hazel that they were almost amber in colour. Blue was apparently his favourite colour due to the fact that his tiny hoodie, little jeans, and baby boots were all royal blue in colouring.

It had been a complete accident that Kari had even met him. She had just been sitting in the corner of the room, a book before her, when the teacher came over to her, a very wide and obviously forced smile on her face.

'Kari? What are you doing all the way over here by yourself? Don't you want to play with the others?' she asked and Kari looked up at her. Kari inwardly sighed. She didn't want to seem lonely and mean by saying no, but it was just so boring and tedious to try and pretend to find the things a toddler would find exciting remotely interesting.

'I'm alright Miss Ali, I'm reading' Kari stated, holding up her book. Miss Ali's eyebrows flew up her forehead. What two year old would pick reading over playing with other children?

'But aren't you lonely? I mean, look at all the other children having fun together. Do you want to have fun with them too?' she asked, looking at little concerned at the isolated way Kari was conducting herself. Kari inwardly sighed once again. She could tell that this woman just wasn't going to let it go.

At that moment, something happened that neither Kari nor Miss Ali were prepared for. A large splat of red paint hit Kari head on, making her yelp in surprise and blink as she rubbed at her face, trying to get the paint off her. Thankfully none of it had gone in her eyes or there might have been some serious damaging effects.

'Yuck' she gagged, spitting paint out of her mouth and narrowing her eyes in the direction the flying splat had come from. It was then that she noticed the boy all dressed in boy, who was waddling over to her as fast as he could, looking guilty and thoroughly apologetic.

'I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to paint you red!' he cried in alarm, looking at Kari and looking ashamed of himself. Kari found herself pitying him slightly at how apologetic he appeared over the incident, and she felt any anger she had at him dissolving out of her. It was obvious by his anxious face that it had been an accident. He had honestly not meant to fire that paint projectile at her.

'It's alright… but how did that happen?' Kari asked, more out of curiosity's sake than anything else.

'I was painting, but the red paint wouldn't open so I jumped on it to open it' the boy explained, still looking nervous as to whether she was angry at him or not.

'Blaine, you should have just asked me. I would have opened it for you. But thank you for apologising to Kari… in fact, why don't the two of you paint together?' Miss Ali suggested and the boy, Blaine Miss Ali had called him, looked at Kari hopefully. It was quite plain to see that Blaine felt bad and liked the idea of playing with her, perhaps to make it up to her for splatting her in the face.

With her own advice ringing in her ears, Kari found herself nodding before she could even register what it was she was agreeing too.

'Lovely' Miss Ali said happily, before ushering them away to sit at the table Blaine had been painting it.

'I'm Blaine Taylor by the way' Blaine said as he sat on a small red chair and Kari sat on a yellow on next to him.

'Kari Kamiya' Kari smiled warmly at him. She knew that since all toddlers were curious, playful and friendly, she'd have no trouble in making friends with Blaine, and it would be nice she supposed, not only for Blaine but for herself. It was a little boring sitting by herself and reading all the time, despite the difficulties she had had fitting in, so to have someone to talk to, teach, and play with, well, it was much better the alternative.

'What should we paint?' Blaine asked as he pulled a large blank piece of paper towards them. Kari frowned thoughtfully for a moment, before she grinned at him.

'Let's paint a garden with a cat in it!' she suggested, thinking of Gatomon and the Digital World, and Blaine nodded excitedly.

'Ok! I'll paint the sky and you can paint the grass' he said happily and laughing to herself at Blaine's enthusiasm, Kari set about doing just that. Together they talked and painted and to her surprise, Kari found herself actually enjoying the toddler's company, and for the first time since returning to this time, Kari felt as though she was actually fitting in.

…

It hadn't taken long for both Tai and Kari to put the pieces together and realise that Steven was Blaine's older brother, and after getting over their surprise at the chances of that happening (Both Kamiyas meeting both Taylors in the same day), they both considered it a bonus. As two sets of siblings, it was more credible that they'd be friends with each other, and so nobody gave their blooming friendships another thought.

Tai and Kari spent an awful lot of time with Steven and Blaine respectively, and due to their regular contact with each other, the two families quickly became friends. Mr and Mrs Kamiya would baby-sit for Mr and Mrs Taylor, and vice versa. The four adults even began socialising together, so soon enough, all four members of each family had gained a new friend. Several months passed by, and the families just got closer and closer together.

They weren't the only ones. There was a group of four friends now that spent a lot of their time together. Tai had finally reached the point where he could safely meet Matt and Sora again without fear of disrupting anything. He was very glad to have their friendship again. He had missed them quite a lot over the past few months. But he hadn't abandoned Steven in the slightest, and now he had joined their little group. Matt and Sora both seemed to like him well enough, which Tai was glad of because he really didn't want to be put into a situation where he'd have to pick one over the other. Not that there would be much of a choice.

Tai and Kari were shocked at how quickly they had grown fond of and attached to Steven and Blaine. They had only meant to gain their friendship to remain undercover, but obviously that plan had been foolish as it would never have been that easy, and now that they were friends; neither Tai nor Kari wanted to lose their new friends by the time they went off having their adventures in the Digital World. Neither of them had any idea that purely by a chance event, neither of them would have too.

…

It was a bright sunny day, and Steven and Blaine were at Tai and Kari's apartment for the afternoon. The four children were playing a game, hide and seek, and Tai was it. He had already found Steven hiding behind the shower curtain, and Kari under their bunk bed. Now the three of them were looking for Blaine. They had just found him hiding behind a potted plant in the living room when their game was interrupted by Mrs Kamiya, who was sporting a rather worried expression on her pretty face.

'What's wrong mom?' Tai asked in concern, having seen her trying and failing to mask her worry.

'Steven, Blaine, your mother just called me. Apparently your Aunt Linda has had a bad fall and has been rushed into hospital. Your mother wants to go see her but since she can't drive, your father is taking her, so that means that you'll be staying here over the weekend' Mrs Kamiya explained, worried about her friend who talked so fondly of her sister. Mrs Taylor was very close to her sister after all, despite living quite some distance away.

'Is she alright?' Steven asked, his face contorted with concern. They didn't get to see their Aunt much since she lived in the country, but the family was very fond of her. She was that batty type of woman that was always in a flutter, but you just couldn't help but like her.

Mrs Kamiya frowned as if internally debating how best to answer the six-year-old's question, especially considering a two-year-old was also present, but then she shrugged, deciding that honesty was always best, especially in a serious situation like this one.

'I'm sorry Steven but I just don't know. Your mother said she would ring when they arrived and update you, but until then, we just don't know anything. Since you'll be staying here for the next few days, I'll be setting up some beds for you guys, and your mother asked me to go fetch you some things from your home' Mrs Kamiya explained as gently and as sympathetically as she could.

Steven nodded in understanding and Blaine bit his lip worriedly, but as there was nothing that could be done right now, he just shuffled his feet nervously, a movement that Kari picked up on.

'Don't worry Blaine, I'm sure that your aunt will be alright' Kari told him encouragingly, patting his shoulder gently. Mrs Kamiya smiled down at her daughter. That was her girl! Being a good friend when it counted.

'I'm sure Kari's right. Now why don't you kids go find a nice game to play in Tai and Kari's room… Tai, can I please have a word?' Mrs Kamiya requested and once Kari had ushered Steven and Blaine into their bedroom and closed the door, Mrs Kamiya stooped down low so that she was at Tai's level.

'Now Steven and Blaine are obviously going to be very concerned about their aunt, some I'm going to try and make today as fun as possibly but I'd like for you to keep an eye out for them. Can you do that for me Tai?' she asked and Tai nodded seriously.

'Sure mom, whatever it takes to help Steven and Blaine feel better' Tai nodded in full agreement and Mrs Kamiya ruffled his hair affectionately.

'That's my little guy… now, I'm popping out to get some clothes and things for Steven and Blaine, so make sure everyone keeps out of trouble until I'm back' Mrs Kamiya told him, before she walked off into her bedroom to get her bag and coat. Tai returned to his own bedroom, closing the door behind him. Not two seconds later the four children heard Mrs Kamiya shouting goodbye, before they heard the front door close behind her.

Naturally over the course of the day, both Steven and Blaine were prone to zoning out and looking worried, but with the combined effects of Tai, Kari, and Mrs Kamiya, they managed to take their minds of their troubles for the most part. Mrs Kamiya set up two makeshift beds on the floor of Tai and Kari's room, and once nine o'clock tolled; all four of them were in bed.

It was nearly midnight when Tai woke up and needed to use the bathroom, so as quietly as he could, he snuck out of the bedroom, careful to avoid stepping on Steven's arm which was lying outside of the bed, and he crept through the dark apartment. Once his business has been attended too, Tai found himself feeling a tiny bit peckish, and therefore he headed for the fridge with thoughts of preparing himself a midnight snack.

He was just about to open the refrigerator door when he caught sight of the date on the calendar (Having grown enough to be able to see it from the floor over the past few months) and his eyes practically bulged out of his head.

'No… oh shit no… this can't be happening' Tai whispered to himself in a frantic tone. Without even caring about the noise he might be making, he ran back to his bedroom, crossed the floor, and began shaking Kari awake.

'Huh… Tai… what are…' she managed to get out before Tai covered her mouth with his hand. Kari looked up at him, tired, annoyed, and predominantly confused, and when Tai jerked his head in the direction of the open door, she nodded. Together, they silently crept out of the room and into the kitchen to talk.

'What is it Tai?' Kari got straight to the point. It was the middle of the night after all, and Kari was in no mood for petty conversation at this hour. She may have the mind of a pre-teen after all, but her body was still very young and needed its sleep after all.

'We've made a terrible mistake Kari, Steven and Blaine should NOT have stayed here tonight… I cannot _believe_ the timing of this!' Tai said in a panic, not making much sense at all.

'Tai, what are you trying to tell me?' Kari asked, still not following what had freaked Tai out so much.

'Kari, it's tonight, tonight is the night when the Digiegg comes out of the computer. Tomorrow is the battle between Greymon and Parrotmon. It's the time Kari, it's the time when we become the Digidestined' Tai told her and Kari almost fell over in shock.

They had never intended for this to happen. They had wanted friends as an accessory, nothing more, but they hadn't intended to feel just as friendly with them as they would with any of the other Digidestined, and they certainly hadn't intended for two innocents to be present during the time when they saw their first digimon again… but it was already too late now. Steven and Blaine would be staying for at least two nights, and they'd have to be pretty dense to miss a battle between a giant bird and a dinosaur. But what would this mean? Would Steven and Blaine become Digidestined too? Would they be going to the Digital World with them… or would they be like those Digidestined that got a partner but had little contact with the Digital World, like Mina and Catherine and Willis? Either way, there was no way that Tai or Kari could see them NOT getting a digimon partner of their own, not if they were present for the events unravelling tonight.

Kari opened her mouth to say something; perhaps to try and reassure Tai that everything would be alright and that they had not just altered the entire course of two people's lives, but before any words would form; the sound of a slow beeping filled their ears. They both gasped, instantly realising where that sound was coming from and what it meant for them all.

'What do we do?' Kari asked slowly, somewhat afraid, unsure as to how to handle this. Tai was about to reply, but before he could, they both jumped as they heard footsteps tip-toeing across the apartment. They hid behind the kitchen counter, and carefully poking their heads out, Tai and Kari saw a sleepy Blaine wandering down the hallway in the direction of the computer which was the source of the beeping noise.

'No… he's about to see it, the egg will be coming through at any moment!' Kari frantically whispered to Tai. Despite how close she had grown to Blaine in the last few months, she didn't want to sentence him to a difficult life full of danger and destruction in the Digital World. War changed people, some for the better, other for worse, and Kari didn't want Blaine to be subjected to that. But it seemed as though there was nothing she could do to prevent it now, not that that made her feel any better about the whole thing. After all, making new friends had been all her idea in the first place. And that made this mess all her fault.

'Come on, we should follow him' Tai told her, and nodding determinedly, Kari followed him as Tai headed down the hall to their father's study, where the door was open and the computer was acting rather strangely. Cautiously looking inside the room, Tai saw the red coding flashing across the computer screen, bathing the study in an eerie red light. And looking up at the screen in awe was a fascinated Blaine, who was staring at the coding with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth.

'Blaine, what are you doing up, you should be asleep' Tai decided to act dumb, knowing that he couldn't tell Blaine anything yet or try to fob him off into leaving before he saw the Digiegg. As much as Tai hated it, he knew it was far too late for that. Steven and Blaine were both going to see it, that much was obvious, and Tai and Kari would have to try and manage the consequences of that, no matter what those might be.

'But the computer… it's doing something weird' Blaine tilted his head in confusion as he looked up at the screen. Kari was about to reply to his statement, but before she could even think of something to say to him, the door behind them burst open, and a panicked looking Steven stepped into the room.

'There you are! Blaine, what are you doing? Mom's not going to be happy if she finds out you've been up this late' Steven chastened his brother sternly. Blaine looked up at his brother anxiously, but was pointing at the computer screen frantically.

'But Steven! Look at the computer!' the youngest Taylor whined defensively, and snapping his head around, Steven quirked a confused eyebrow at the coding flashing rapidly over the computer screen. Next to him, Tai and Kari exchanged an anxious look, both of them nervous at the events to come due to their actions. This was it…

'What's it doing?' Steven asked in bewilderment. As answer, the screen began to bubble, and a large ball made up of computer coding began to form before their very eyes. There was a blinding flash of light… and then…

Tai yawned and sat up in his bed, stretching and looking around. Steven and Blaine were both curled up on their makeshift beds on the floor, both fast asleep and breathing lightly. Tai began climbing down the ladder, and smiled when he saw Kari fast asleep as well, her little arms curled around the colourful Digiegg protectively. He gently prodded her awake, and when she opened her eye wearily, he pointed at the egg. She smiled slightly.

'Oh, is it that time already?' she asked and Tai couldn't help but burst out laughing at her words. But his laughing was enough to arouse Steven and Blaine from their sleep, and both rubbing at their eyes, the Taylors immediately spotted the egg in Kari's arms.

'Huh? Oh! It's really here! It's real!' Blaine cried happily, springing to his feet and darting over to Kari to look closely at the bizarre egg before him.

'An egg that comes out of a computer… that sounds a bit… well, too science-fiction for my liking' Steven said, eying the egg with suspicion, as if expecting it to suddenly attack his younger brother.

'What's wrong with science-fiction?' Tai couldn't help but wonder aloud, but Steven didn't answer him, not that Tai had expected him too.

He had quickly learnt that Steven would talk when he wanted too, but when he didn't want too, it was best to just leave the subject. Despite being a quiet little bookworm, Steven had a temper on him, especially when it came to Blaine. He was really like Matt in that sense. Protective and not afraid to show it. Maybe that was why Matt and Steven got on so well. And if Steven thought that the freaky egg was a threat to his brother… well, there was nothing he wouldn't do to protect Blaine from it.

Sadly, what Steven didn't know what that the egg itself wasn't the threat right now. The real danger would come later that night, the night when they'd become the Digidestined. And due to Tai and Kari's own actions, they had caused two innocents to be there. Would that make their lives better? Tai had no idea. But it would throw their lives into danger for a very long time and Tai couldn't help but feel a little guilty about that. There was nothing to be done now though. It was already far too late.

At that moment, their bedroom door opened, and thinking fast, Kari pulled up her blanket and covered the egg with it. The four of them look up at the smiling face of Mrs Kamiya, who was oblivious to the manoeuvre Kari had just performed and to the fact that there was currently an alien life form in the room. Tai inwardly sighed in relief; thankful that Kari had pulled that off so quickly. The last thing they needed was for their _mother_ to become a Digidestined as well. It was bad enough they had just altered the course of Steven and Blaine's lives without anybody else getting caught in the crossfires.

'Hey kids, I'm heading to the health food store so please be good. Tai, look after everyone and get them some breakfast, I'll see you guys later' she said cheerfully to them and when her own two children plus their guests all nodded up at her, she offered them one more smile before she turned on her heel and left. Tai gently closed the bedroom door behind her, but nobody moved until they heard the front door to the apartment opening and closing. They all sighed in relief, before turning back to the egg as Kari pulled it out from under her covers.

'So, what do we do with it?' Steven asked with an arched eyebrow.

'We hatch it silly!' Blaine giggled, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

'I don't think that thing is going to hatch into a chicken somehow, it came out of a _computer_' Steven pointed out, making a valid point, still looking at the egg suspiciously.

'Well… let's get some breakfast and then we can decide what to do about the egg' Tai suggested and at that moment Steven's stomach rumbled loudly, making him blush whilst the other three all laughed at the timing of that.

Minutes later the four of them were in the kitchen. Kari, the egg clutched in her arms, Blaine, and Steven were all sitting around the table whilst Tai was stood on his tip-toes by the oven, frying some eggs for their breakfast. When they were done, he flipped the fried eggs onto some plates and he carried them over to the others, handing them each a plate.

'Order's up' he grinned as he sat down and the four of them munched happily on their breakfast, which was surprisingly good considering that a 'Seven' year old had made it. Once everyone had finished and had a glass of milk to wash it down, their attention was turned back to the egg.

'So… if not a chicken, what do you think it'll hatch into?' Blaine was asking, just as Tai remembered how this had happened the last time. Kari had dropped it, it had rolled off down the hall into their bedroom, and then it had hatched.

Kari was one step ahead of him, and just as the last words escaped Blaine's lips, she purposely dropped the egg and it began rolling away.

'Huh… hey! Come back!' Blaine cried, jumping down from his seat and toddling off after it.

'Blaine! Wait up, not so fast!' Steven exclaimed in alarm, fearing his brother would fall and hurt himself. He dashed after his younger sibling and Tai and Kari nodded at each other before following. The four of them stopped just inside the confines of the bedroom, just as the egg appeared to right itself and stand up straight.

'Uh oh' the four of them gulped as the shell of the egg began to splinter. Tai squeezed Kari's hand gently, a gesture she appreciated given the importance of this moment. They were seeing their very first digimon ever… again… it was this moment that their lives had changed forever. Sure, getting the egg had been important, but until it had hatched, they hadn't become the Digidestined. Well that was about to change…

'It's waking up! Blaine cried in delight, his eyes wide with anticipation. He had never seen an egg like that after all, and he just couldn't wait to find out what was inside it. It was just part of Blaine's curious nature after all, and nobody could begrudge him that.

'It's hatching Blaine, not waking up' Steven rolled his eyes fondly, shaking his head bemusedly at some of the things his baby brother came out with from time to time. He gently placed a hand on Blaine's shoulder to stop him from moving any closer though. It could be a snake or anything inside that egg, and there was no way Steven was going to let anything attack HIS baby brother. No way.

The egg's shell shattered into mere fragments before they vanished, turning into data which dispersed, and in the place of the egg was a small digimon, which was gurgling gently to itself, looking at the four humans before it curiously. It was round in shape and covered in jet black fur, which given its birth had been mere moments ago, seemed to be shortly cut and very soft. It had two little triangular ears like a cat's and two bright round yellow eyes that were eying the four humans with wonder and suspicion. Tai and Kari both recognised it instantly. It was a Botamon, the baby form of Koromon and Agumon. Steven and Blaine on the other hand, did NOT know what it was.

'What in the world is that thing?' Steven yelped in shock, looking at the creature before him with wide, slightly panicked eyes.

'Aww, it's so cute!' Blaine said in adoration, and before his brother could stop him, he darted forwards and knelt down next to the creature, who gurgled at him in alarm, before it began purring as Blaine began petting it. It nuzzled into his hand, making the young boy laugh happily.

'Hey! That tickles!' he laughed loudly.

'Blaine, get back! It could be dangerous!' Steven ordered, about to move forwards, before Tai put a calming hand on his friend's shoulder. He may not know Steven as well as he did Matt and Sora from the original timeline, but he still knew that Steven was close to panicking and needed calming down, so the gesture was to remind Steven of that. Steven took a deep few breaths, before nodding his thanks to Tai, who smiled back in response.

Meanwhile Kari had also moved forwards and was hugging the Botamon as well, making it gurgle excited at all the attention it was getting. Suddenly it lunged at Kari's face, in what appeared to be an affectionate kiss, making all three of the boys jump in surprise at the sudden movement.

'Hey! Let go of her! Kari!' Tai reacted on instinct. He knew that a Botamon wasn't a threat, but even baby digimon could be dangerous to humans, even if accidently. And he wasn't prepared to take that risk with Kari, despite how important it was for _this_ event not to change any further than it already had.

The Botamon let go of Kari, darted all across the room as if looking for somewhere to hide, before it settled for dashing under the bed and glaring at them from its position by the back wall, which just so happened to be far out of their reach.

'Why did it freak out? Did we do something wrong?' Blaine asked sadly as the four of them laid on their stomachs to look under the bed, all of them seeing the creature now growling at them defensively, as if telling them to keep away.

'No Blaine, it's a creature like nothing I've ever seen before… I think it's just unpredictable… and possibly dangerous' Steven told him, trying his best to remain calm. He knew that Tai had been right before, that freaking out wouldn't help anything, but it was hard to remember that when his brother could be in danger. He'd try his best to keep it together though… but if that thing tried anything with Blaine, they'd be no holding back.

'I doubt that it's dangerous, I mean, it was only just born, it's probably just scared' Kari reasoned and Steven and Blaine hummed thoughtfully. She HAD made a very good, logical point there after all.

'Well, we can't just leave it under there, so…' Tai reached around his neck and pulled his goggles off over his head. He then flung the goggles at the creature, making it yelp before a stream of brightly coloured bubbles escaped from its mouth. Steven and Tai both jumped back, surprised by the sudden bubble cloud being shot at them, but Kari and Blaine stayed where they were, both of them laughing at their older brothers.

'Maybe my whistle can lure him out' Kari suggested, reaching down and putting said whistle into her mouth. It was the same one she had given to Gatomon in the original timeline… Kari couldn't help but wonder what had happened to it. Gatomon hadn't had it when they had met up again after all.

'Pheet Pheet Pheet, Pheet Pheet Pheet, Pheet Pheet Pheet Pheet Pheet' Kari began whistling a tune, and it seemed to calm the Botamon down, because moments later it began to join in.

'Bot, bot, bot!' Botamon began.

'Pheet, pheet, pheet!' Kari continued, her lips beginning to quirk upwards as she realised it was working.

Pheet Pheet Pheet, Pheet Pheet Pheet, Pheet Pheet Pheet Pheet Pheet' Kari continued, and the Botamon began to crawl forwards, still afraid but brave enough to be closer to them now.

'Bot, bot, bot, bot, bot, bot!' Botamon carried on singing, beginning to blow bubbles at them lightly, not trying to hurt them but to communicate with them. He was only a baby. He had no idea that they couldn't understand bubbles after all.

'Pheet, pheet, pheet, pheet! Ha, ha!' Kari let her whistle fall out of her mouth as she giggled as hundreds and hundreds of bubbles filled the room, drifting out the window.

'It's taking a bubble bath!' Blaine laughed, before his eyebrows contracted in a frown.

'How did you know that would work?' he asked, turning to face Kari, who gulped, trying to think fast. What could she say? _Oh, I've met this creature before and I'm really from the future living my life again._ Yeah, **that** would go down a storm. Kari couldn't help but be reminded of Izzy sometimes by the way Blaine was so curious about everything and always asking questions. But she couldn't answer this one. She needed to throw him off. She couldn't appear to know too much about Digimon yet. It would be far too suspicious.

'I just thought maybe a song would work, everyone at playgroup loves song time after all' she shrugged, hoping that had sounded plausible. It seemed to pass the test though, for Blaine just shrugged and turned back to the Botamon, who was just cautiously poking out from under the bed now.

Meanwhile, behind them, Tai and Steven were having their own discussion.

'What should we do with it? I mean, I don't think your mom is going to want to keep it' Steven hissed to him, not wanting Kari or Blaine to hear. It was obvious that they had already grown attached to the creature, and it would be heart-breaking to see their expressions when the creature was gone, but surely, there was no other choice. They couldn't just _keep_ a monster after all!

'We can't just throw it out into the street Steven, it was only just born, it'll die if we do that' Tai pointed out to him, a stern look lining his features. He knew of course that Steven wasn't suggesting that, but at the same time, Tai wanted to make sure it was clear that that was NOT an option.

'I didn't mean that!' Steven quickly told him, not wanting his friend to think he'd be that heartless. He was saved replied though, because at that moment he looked over at the two younger kids gathered around the creature, and he jaw dropped at what he saw. Tai noticed his expression and followed his gaze, before he let out a sigh and shook his head. Kari and Blaine was kneeling by the creature, and the two of them were both feeding it candy bar after candy bar. Really, Kari should have known better. Oh well, they were only candy bars after all.

'You know, you could have asked before taking _my_ candy bars' he sighed, before they all jumped as the telephone began to ring.

'I'll get it… you keep an eye on those three' Tai said to Steven, who nodded, before he ventured out into the living room and quickly answered the phone.

'Hello, this is Tai' Tai answered, already knowing _who_ it was, but not why they were ringing this time around.

'Hey Tai, it's Sora. I wanted to apologise about how angry I got over you throwing up in my hat. I mean, at least you told me about it before I put it on. I'm sorry, I overreacted' Sora told him and Tai smiled to himself. It was true that he hadn't been able to stop himself throwing up in her hat, but he had changed his mistake of not telling her about it.

'It's alright Sora, I'm just glad I told you before it was too late' Tai replied kindly, letting her know that she was forgiven. He heard Sora sigh in relief down the end of the phone-line.

'Well, that was everything. I'll see you on Monday morning' she said before suddenly a ton of static began making the phone malfunction. Tai's eyes widened, realising what that meant. He hung up the phone, knowing that Sora couldn't hear him now anyway, before he ran back to his bedroom, only to see that the Botamon was gone.

Kari and Blaine were now hugging a larger creature, and this one was bright pink and furless. It was larger than Botamon, and had wide reddish brown eyes that sparkled with mirth, and a wide toothy smile. The creature also had long trailing ears. It had digivolve into Koromon, the in-training form of Tai's own partner digimon.

'What the… what did you do?' Tai asked, knowing he had to act shocked for appearances sake. Kari followed his lead, and acted surprised. Steven and Blaine had no need to act though, as _they_ really WERE surprised by the creature's sudden transformation.

'It changed! It got bigger! How did that happen?!' Steven gaped like a fish, his mouth opening and closing in shock.

'What will your mom say if she sees him?' Blaine asked worriedly. Tai let out a sigh as there was a loud farting noise. Kari lifted the Koromon up to see that he had… removed the candy bars from his stomach.

'Great, from bad to worse' Tai sighed, before he turned and got some plastic bags from the kitchen draw. He returned to the bedroom and began to clean it up, whilst Steven kept a watchful eye over Blaine and Kari, the two of whom were playing with the creature.

'I think he looks hungry' Blaine said thoughtfully, looking at the creature closely.

'I'll get him something from the fridge' Kari immediately jumped up and left. Tai carefully hid a grin. He knew why Kari had said 'from the fridge'. It was clear that she remembered a rather large scratch across his face that had been HER doing, so this time she was going to prevent that. That was Kari all over though. Protecting and sheltering those weaker or more vulnerable than herself.

She returned which some chicken legs, which she tossed to the Koromon, who gobbled them up as if it were starving. Tai shook his head. It had just eaten a load of candy and was now downing chicken. If it didn't stop soon, it was most definitely be sick later.

It wasn't long later that Mrs Kamiya returned and announced from the kitchen that she had made them Liver Sticks for their tea. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may be, she had burned them; buying Tai, Steven, Kari and Blaine some more time to figure out what to do with the creature, where they could hide him. Whilst all of this had been happening, Kari had asked that vital question.

'So, do you have a name?' Kari asked, knowing that this conversation was important as it was the first time any of them heard about a Digimon AND the Digital World, even if _most_ of them forgot by the time they actually went there.

'Koromon' the digimon answered in a squeaky reply.

'Nice to meet you Koromon' Kari beamed at the creature, not at all fazed by the way it could talk.

'Steven, his name is Koromon' Blaine said happily.

'Whose name?' the older boy asked, frowning as he looked over at the younger kids by the creature.

'Koromon, what are you anyway?' Blaine asked curiously, ignoring his brother's question for the moment.

'I'm a Digimon, short for Digital Monster. I'm from the Digital World' Koromon cheerfully replied.

'My name is Kari, this is Blaine, Steven, and my brother Tai' Kari pointed to each of them in turn.

'Hi, Kari, Blaine, Steven, and Tai' Koromon repeated happily, nodding at them all in turn.

'You know, he's really kind of cute' Blaine giggled happily.

'He can talk' Steven said, falling to his knees in shock. He wasn't sure how much more of this his nerves could take.

'You four are the best friends I've ever had!' Koromon said proudly.

'We're the only friends you've had' Kari pointed out with a giggle.

'Thank you, for hatching me and feeding me' Koromon smiled. At that moment, there was another loud fart and Tai sighed.

'Ok, let's have a warning for this, alright' he sighed as he lifted him up. He cleaned it up and they all played with him a bit more, hiding him quickly under Kari's quilt as Mrs Kamiya came in and told them that dinner was ready, consisting of a take-away pizza to replace the ruined liver sticks. It wasn't too long before they were all tucked up in bed; Koromon snuggled down next to Kari.

Tai was feeling nervous now. The battle was coming very soon, and he had no idea how Steven and Blaine being there would affect what was to come. He hoped it wouldn't change too much, but at the same time, he realised that the chances of that happening were rather slim. He could still hope though, after all, hope was a very important thing to have, as TK had so often shown him.

…

A couple of hours had passed, and Tai had tried his best to sleep but it was no good. How could you possible sleep when you knew that in a few hours, two great big monsters would be tearing the street apart in a raging battle? But it wasn't just that.

The last time, only Kari and he had actually been down in the battle, the others were safely off to the side, and now he felt guiltier than ever about changing time in such a way that it caused Steven and Blaine to be there for all this madness and putting them in danger and this was only the first hurdle. If Steven and Blaine became Digidestined along with all the others, than they'd be in a lot more danger than just this one battle. Tai just hoped he'd be able to protect them, along with all his other friends of course.

Tai had thought about the others quite a lot over the past year. He had thought so many times about changing time with them, to try and make them into a stronger group of friends before even going to the Digital World, but in the end, he had decided not to. It was those experiences that had shaped them into who they were, and he wouldn't change any of them for the world. Plus, he was worried about doing something that might cause them NOT to be the Digidestined, so he had left them along to make sure that nothing caused time to change for them. Sora and Matt were the only ones he was friends with, and that was because those three had already been friends before their adventures so Tai knew it wouldn't interrupt anything.

All too soon Tai heard the sound of whimpering, and knowing it was show time, he ventured down the ladder to see that Koromon was looking VERY ill and was shaking as if he had a fever. He gently shook Kari awake, whilst at the same time, Steven and Blaine were both waking up, the two of them aroused from their slumber by the noise Koromon was making.

'What's going on?' Steven asked as he tried, and failed, to stifle a large tired yawn.

'Oh no, Koromon!' Blaine cried, his face contorted with worried for his new friend.

'Shh Blaine, we don't want to wake Mr and Mrs Kamiya' Steven hushed him quickly, looking at the open as if expecting it to burst open. When it didn't he turned back to the scene playing out before them. Koromon was suddenly glowing with a blinding white light, swelling bigger and bigger, his shape changing into a creature much more complex in design than himself.

'What's happening?' Steven asked fearfully, backing away and pulling Blaine with him.

'He's changing again' Blaine cried out in alarm. The glowing stopped, and a large yellow dinosaur was in Koromon's place, it was Agumon, but it wasn't Tai's partner digimon, it was an Agumon much bigger and much less friendly than Tai's Agumon.

'Nice dinosaur. Friendly dinosaur.' Steven said sounding scared, but he was brave enough to stand protectively in front of Blaine. No stupid dinosaur would hurt _his_ baby brother. Not if he had anything to say about it.

The Agumon was about to jump out of the window when Kari climbed onto his tail, despite Tai trying to stop her. They had talked about this, and disagreed about this. Kari was adamant that the only way not to disrupt the timeline was for them to be down in the battle. Tai disagreed, and had refused to place her in such danger. But Kari hadn't back down, and to show Tai that, she had just made her choice.

'No, Kari!' he yelled in panic, terror ripping through him at the thought of her being hurt when Parrotmon arrived.

Blaine, not wanting to watch his friends leave without him, darted around his brother and hopped onto Agumon's back.

'Ah! Blaine, get down from there! What are you doing?!' Steven yelled in terror. He went to jump forwards, trying desperately to reach his brother in time so he could pull him back, but it was too late as the Agumon leapt out of the window.

'What's going on in there? Did you kids break another lamp?' Mrs Kamiya's voice rang through the door. Tai and Steven were pushing against it to keep her out. The last thing they needed was for her to see that Kari and Blaine were now missing.

'Everything's fine Mrs Kamiya' Steven called back. They heard her sigh before her footsteps retreated down the hall. At the same moment, they heard a loud crashing sound from outside, and rushing to the window, the boys saw that the Agumon had landed on Mrs' Kamiya's car, causing the roof to cave inwards and for the windows to shatter outwards.

'If Mom's worried about the lamp, wait till she sees her car!' Tai shook his head with a sigh. It would be put down the 'Terrorist Attack' which was supposedly was what caused all the destruction from the Digimon Battle. In reality, the 'Terrorist Attack' was just a cover up as nobody had any idea what had caused the damage which had ripped a whole street apart.

'Come on, let's go get Blaine and Kari' Steven said in a hushed but determined voice, and creeping as quietly as possible to the front door, the two boys were soon racing out the apartment and after their siblings.

…

'Kari, Kari! How hard could it be to find a dinosaur?' Tai puffed as they rushed across the road. He was running to where he knew Agumon, Kari and Blaine would be, whilst at the same time, trying his best to act as if he had no idea where he was going.

'Blaine! Where are you?!' Steven yelled. It was obvious that he was too distressed at the moment to see anything odd about the way Tai seemed to be leading them through the streets, which at the moment, Tai was highly grateful for. They couldn't afford to blow their cover now after all. This was just the beginning after all.

'There they are' Steven suddenly cried, pointing over towards the bridge. The two of them went to run over to them, but suddenly stopped as the entire sky lit up as numbers, streams of data, flickering across the night sky. The streams swirled into a sphere shape that was so big it covered the entire sky. It had an eerie greenish glow, and Tai recognised it instantly. It was the second digiegg. It split down the middle and faded into nothingness, revealing a large bird digimon, bright green and yellow in its colouring. It was Parrotmon, and he didn't look happy, but then again, neither did Agumon.

'I'd hate to see the chicken that egg came out of!' Tai deadpanned.

'That is one big bird. Ah!' Steven cried out in shock as Agumon reared up.

'PEPPER BREATH!' he bellowed, spitting several large fireballs out of his mouth, aiming at Parrotmon. He dodged them both, but they hit the buildings surrounding the area, blasting chunks of concrete away from the main structure. The rubble rained down on the street below, but thankfully all the humans were safe at a good distance away from its falling path.

'Kari! Blaine!' Tai cried out as they reached them. Steven immediate hugged his brother to him, whilst Tai and Kari looked fearfully at Parrotmon. They knew how this would turn out… but still, it was terrifying to be so close to the fighting without their own partners there protecting them.

'Koromon, please don't fight!' Blaine pleaded, tears rolling down his face as he pulled away from his brother and moved towards Agumon. The poor boy didn't even get the name right, but they didn't understand digivolution yet, so neither Tai nor Kari could blame him for his mistake.

'Blaine, come on! We gotta go!' Steven was trying to pull him away but Blaine was having none of it. Tai wanted so much to help Steven and get them all away from the danger-zone, but he knew that they needed to stay where they were. They couldn't change this. It was too important to risk damaging this moment.

'Koromon!' Blaine cried, ignoring what Steven was saying.

'Blaine, it's too dangerous!' Steven tried again. Kari watched the scene with pity. Like her brother, want she really wanted was to pull her friends out of danger but she knew as well that this moment was key in their future. They couldn't risk altering it any-more than they already had.

'We should get out of here' she said worriedly, unable to stop herself. Thankfully no one took any notice of her. If they had… well, the future could change in ways they couldn't imagine, and they just couldn't take that risk, not here, not with _this_ event.

'PEPPER BREATH!' Agumon yelled, firing more fireballs but he missed again, but causing even more damage to the street around them. Parrotmon chuckled darkly, his beck curled into a nasty smirk as he leered at his opponent.

'Ha, ha, ha! My turn!' the giant bird hissed menacingly. The humans all watched in growing fear, their face contorted with panic, dreading what was coming next.

'SONIC DESTROYER!' Parrotmon yelled, sending a large blast of crackling blue electricity towards them. At the same moment, Agumon was enveloped in a bright white light again, and he became even bigger. He had an orangish red colour in skin, and a thick brown helmet like horn covered his head. He was huge, with stronger looking claws and a longer tail. He was Greymon now. He let out a loud roar as he finished digivolving.

'Are you guys all okay?' Tai asked as the four friends picked themselves up off the floor, having been knocked off their feet by the power of Parrotmon's Sonic Destroyer as it soared past them.

'I'm alright Tai' Kari replied to him, if only to keep him from worrying right now.

'We are too' Steven said as he pulled Blaine up to his feet. Blaine was shaking with fear, but at the same time, he point-blank refused to go anywhere. And Steven wasn't budging without him. Tai couldn't help but feel proud of his friends for having such courage in the face of fear.

'Whose that?' Kari pretended to ask, looking at Greymon. She knew of course, yet she could hardly let Steven and Blaine know that. She mentally sighed. She really hated this whole acting like she was ignorant thing. But still, she understood why it was necessary. That didn't mean she had to like it.

'Koromon?' Blaine asked; a very frightened tone in his voice. Greymon looked down at them all. His eyes held fondness for the group, but they also shined with eagerness for battle with his enemy.

'I'm Greymon now' he stated calmly, his voice coming out as a deep rumble.

'You can be whoever you want, big guy' Steven commented faintly. Greymon let out a deafening roar as Parrotmon flew down to attack them all once again.

'NOVA BLAST!' Greymon attacked first, charging up a huge burst of fire from his jaws. The fire ball flew towards Parrotmon, hitting him head on and exploding, enveloping the bird in a shroud of thick black smoke which was the result of the explosion.

'Greymon!' Kari cried out. Despite him not being her brother's partner, Kari cared about ALL digimon, and she really couldn't stand to see any of them get hurt, especially this one as it was the first one she had ever seen in either timeline.

'You can do it' Blaine yelled encouragingly, praying that Greymon would be strong enough to win.

'Don't give in' Steven encouraged, but their words just weren't enough, for when Parrotmon flew out of the smoke ball and countered with his own attack, the Sonic Destroyer hit its mark, and Greymon fell back, his eyes closed. His back hit the ground, making the floor shudder and nearly knocking the four small humans off their feet again.

'Oh, no! Tai, he's hurt!' Kari cried in horror, trying to break out of Tai's grip to go to him. Despite knowing that he'd be ok, Kari just didn't want to see Greymon get hurt, and that was why she couldn't just stand back and do nothing, despite knowing how the situation would turn out.

'Kari, there's nothing you can do!' Tai argued, but then they remembered the whistle. Kari quickly handed it to Tai, just as Parrotmon rounded for another attack.

'Greymon, wake up, help us, he's coming' Steven tried, fear dripping from his voice. Blaine was trembling as he clung to his brother's legs, looking at Parrotmon as if he were the stuff of nightmares. Tai put the whistle to his lips and blew as hard as he could. It pierced through the dark night.

'Come on, Tai!' Steven whispered in prayer. After a few more moments, Tai just couldn't take it anymore. He gasped in a breath of cold air, just as Greymon's eyes reopened. He let out a battle cry of a roar as he reared back up onto his feet, his strength returning to him.

'Go for it' all four children shouted as one.

'NOVA BLAST' Greymon bellowed, firing off another ball of fire. Parrotmon shrieked as it hit him dead on target. This time it worked. There was a blinding flash of red light, and when it cleared, both the champion digimon had vanished. All that was left was a severely destroyed street and no more.

'Greymon!' Blaine called but to no avail. And that was it; Tai fought as he took Kari's hand, whilst Steven took Blaine's and began leading them back home, away from the devastation the battle had caused.

This was it; they were the Digidestined now, Steven and Blaine too. Tai and Kari both knew that it would be dangerous, and some things would be totally out of their control, but over the next four years, they'd prepare themselves, and Steven and Blaine if they could. After all, it was only just beginning.

…

In the time that was just a single year on Earth for Tai and Kari, it had been decades in the Digital World due to the warp in time that the Great Darkness had caused upon its creation. The old world was gone now. Chaos and evil roamed free, and digimon were becoming wilder and wilder as the years passed by. The Dark Masters were operating from the shadows now, still as powerful and opposing as ever. Nobody had seen them for years though, but many still feared their craving for power.

A secret organisation had risen up to fight their evil, by creatures that had no proper distinction between human and digimon. They were human in form and nature, and yet they were made up of data like the digimon, but they lacked attributes, meaning they weren't capable of digivolution or producing their own attacks. They resided in a secret castle on the continent of Server; their name was unknown, as was their existence to most.

And yet on one terrible day, the Dark Masters, making their first public appearance in a great many years, showed the Digital World just how unforgiving and ruthless they still were even after all that time.

Piedmon, the strongest, evillest, and the leader of the Dark Masters, lead a platoon of robotic digimon, on loan to him from his fellow Dark Master Machinedramon, to attack the castle, and due to it being a surprise attack, the odds were stacked highly against those fighting for the side of the light.

Many of the digital/human entities were destroyed and bludgeoned to death as the army of machine digimon programmed to obey the Dark Masters' commands made short work of their fighters. Piedmon had come there for a reason, and he didn't intend to leave empty-handed. A spy in their little rebellion had told him of a new project entitled 'The Digidestined' and what it entailed, and Piedmon was determined that the project never succeed.

As Machinedramon's forces disposed of the workers in the castle, Piedmon found what he was looking for in the Keep, right in the centre of the castle, far beneath the ground. Leering evilly as his army made short work of the guards, Piedmon stalked over to a glass cabinet which held ten brightly coloured digieggs, ten strange blue devices his spy had told him were called 'Digivices' (Items capable of inducing digivolution and helping with the process of it), and physical embodiments of human virtues which had been dubbed 'The Crests', items capable of making humans aware of their inner powers and allowing them to channel said powers into various digimon.

Piedmon used a small sonic blast of energy to smash open the cabinet, and he smiled as he reached out with his gloved hands. He picked up the Crests first, and then prepared to smash the Digieggs, which would crush the tiny spanner in the works of his plan. He turned when a voice rang out from behind him, an unwelcome one at that.

'Piedmon! Hands off those Crests!' Genai, a man with a youthful appearance wearing a white hooded martial arts robe, came running at him, a sword in his hand as his weapon of choice.

'Genai?' Piedmon almost sighed. He had been hoping that his army would have disposed of Genai but apparently that had not been the case. Piedmon quickly pocketed the crests, and then gracefully dodged as Genai slashed at him with his sword. Piedmon had jumped so high he landed behind Genai, and laughing darkly, he implanted a tiny orb of darkness, which contained a highly dangerous virus, into Genai's back, making him groan and grit his teeth in pain. The virus had been created by Piedmon himself, and was designed to induce rapid aging to the subject of such a curse. Hopefully it would turn Genai into a withered pile of ashes, then Piedmon could get back to the job in hand.

Genai found the strength to keep going for now, and spun around, trying once again to attack Piedmon with his sword. The clown like creature dodged again, before a Mekanorimon fired a Twin Beam at Genai, forcing _him_ to dodge this time.

Genai used his sword to rip open the blue dome on Mekanorimon's body, and he flung out the Bakemon that was controlling the stronger though mindless digimon. Genai jumped inside the metal digimon and used it for his own needs. With the remote control arms, Genai had the Mekanorimon sweep up the Digieggs and the Digivices before flying off through the roof of the castle, taking them to safety. The Guardromon attacked with their Guardian Barrage, but Genai was able to make the Mekanorimon steer out their path.

'Follow him! Don't let Genai out of your sight!' Piedmon ordered icily, enraged that his mission had not gone the way he had wanted it too. The Guardromon took off into the air, pursuing Genai and the Mekanorimon he was in across the sky.

For a while, Genai steered the Digieggs out of harm's way, until one of the Guardromon's attacks hit him. The ensuing blast knocked one of the digieggs out of the metal hand of Mekanorimon, a light pink egg with darker pink rings decorating it. The digiegg fell down to the ground miles and miles below them, falling deep into the forests of Server and being lost to the rest of the Digital world.

Genai kept flying, not realising one of the eggs had been lost, all the way to a tiny island in the middle of the ocean. Piedmon would never think to look for them there, and so Genai left them there, hidden from the rest of the world until they were ready to save it.

With a heavy heart, Genai returned to the mainland, his strength almost gone but his resolve to stop the Dark Masters stronger than ever.

…

Four years had passed since the battle between Greymon and Parrotmon, and it seemed that everyone save Tai and Kari had forgotten what he happened. He had closely talked to Steven and Blaine, but it was like the encountered had erased itself from their minds. Even all the others had forgotten, but he had only checked with Matt and Sora as they were the only ones he knew at this point in time.

Sadly, not much had changed over the past four years. Tai had kept his distance from all the other Digidestined. He missed them all terribly, but he was sure that if he caused them to change too quickly, the timeline would just… break. It would spin further and further out of control until Tai and Kari had no idea what was coming or how to defend against it, and he was determined that that didn't happen. If he had to relive all this, than he wanted to be in control. He wanted to be able to know what was coming and prepare himself and his friends to deal with it. He had a feeling this was going to take everything ounce of strength he possessed, but if it saved the Digital World and his friends, he'd be willing to do whatever it took.

The damaged to the street had been put down to an act of terrorism, and everything was pretty much back to normal, with the exception of Steven and Blaine still being part of their little group. Nothing had changed there, and the two families were as close as ever. Steven, or Steve as he liked to be called now, and Blaine were going to be joining the others in the Digital World, Tai was sure of it, and he couldn't help but wonder what their presence there would do to the timeline, but he was praying it was nothing negative. It was his fault that they were going in the first place.

Tai himself was currently preparing a bag of clothes. He sighed slightly as he heard Kari coughing behind him. Just like the last time, she had fallen sick and would not be joining them. Tai wasn't sure if he was happy about it or not. He was glad she wouldn't be in danger, not yet at least, but it would be an awfully long time before he could see her again, and he knew he'd miss her something terrible.

'I'm going to miss you' she admitted, drawing his attention, and Tai turned to face her, knowing this wasn't a conversation he could just brush off.

'I'm going to miss you too, but it will only be one day for you' Tai kindly reminded her.

'I wish I could go as well' Kari whispered sadly, her face flushed with a fever. Tai gently patted her on the arm sympathetically.

'I know you do Kari, but you're too sick, and I doubt that the timelines could support you being there without collapsing, remember, we need you here so that Myotismon will appear at the right time. PLUS Gatomon isn't with the others on File Island right now so you wouldn't be able to see her anyway' Tai pointed out all the reasons she couldn't go on this first adventure into the Digital World. And those weren't even including the fact that Tai himself didn't want her to be in any more danger than she needed to be.

'I know… it's just hard, sitting here on the sidelines and waiting whilst you guys all fight for your lives' Kari admitted and Tai nodded, understanding just how frustrating that could be. He had done it often enough when Davis and the others had taken on the responsibilities the older kids had once carried. But there was nothing that could be done about it after all.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door and Mrs Kamiya entered the room.

'Are you feeling any better Kari? Do you need anything?' she asked her daughter, who coughed again but shook her head tiredly. All she needed right now was some rest. She just hoped she'd be feeling better by the time she saw Gatomon again. She'd need all her strength after that so she might as well rest whilst she could.

'Tai, are you packed yet?' their mother turned to Tai instead, who nodded as he stood up, having sat down on the edge of Kari's bed as they chatted.

'Nearly, I've just got a few more things to prepare' he admitted and Mrs Kamiya nodded before she left again, closing the door behind her.

With nothing else to do, Tai returned to his packing whilst Kari tried to get some more sleep. Just one more day, Tai thought to himself as he packed up for Summer Camp, and then he'd finally be back where he was needed. Where he could do some good instead of just sitting and waiting.

It was finally time to go back to the Digital World.

**...**

**And there we go : ) So yeah, a very long chapter but I envision all the chapters being roughly this length, seeing as I plan on doing two episodes every chapter. Now, several people have requested that I leave the original story up so that they can compare them, so I will be leaving the original version up until we get to the battle with Devimon in this story. After that, it's coming down. I hope you guys liked this beginning to the new story, and if you have any questions, concerns or ideas please leave them in a review, and I'll do my best to answer them. If you have any questions about why I added or removed parts of the plot, again, feel free to ask me. I hope to see you all in the next chapter : )**


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